The Supreme Court Justice and the Serial Killer
by NASCARLUCY
Summary: Maria Gomez-Garcia is up for nomination to the Supreme Court. She never dreamed that a date she went over 30 years ago might come back to haunt her.
1. Chapter 1

While visiting Miami, serial killer Mark Darkling had turned himself into police after telling them that he had murdered 50 women over a 40 year period. He also had turned over to them 40 notebooks and his diaries which were very detailed accounts of his killing spree. The only reason he had turned himself into police was because he had cancer and knew that at some point it would be terminal.

The investigation had taken months even though Mark Darkling had provided officials with names of victims, dates, how they were murdered and where the bodies were dumped and other details only the killer would know. When it became known that he'd also killed women in other states, a National Task Force was set up to investigate his crimes. It also went international as well when he said that he murdered women in Spain and Puerto Rico.

The victims were females and ranged in age from 15 to 30. All were of Hispanic ancestry but from different parts of the world. The victims in the Miami killings were Cuban. The victims in the Southwest/California killings were from Mexico. The international victims were from Spain and Puerto Rico. With the exception of one person, nearly all of the victims were those who few people noticed when they went missing or who were never reported missing. This included runaways, those who were homeless and those who were working the streets.

The FBI and several law enforcement agencies drove to a home outside the Everglades that Mr. Darkling owned. He had murdered several women in this house. He also had buried 4 women on the property. The bodies were in the back yard just as Mark Darkling had said. Also found buried in the back yard were a couple of boxes that had cameras and film.

The film footage had been reviewed. There was film footage of a young woman who hadn't been identified which was very troubling to officials. It seemed odd that Mark didn't know who the woman was and couldn't say for sure if he'd killed her.

The tape was very grainy and no audio could be heard. The woman was seen on the tape briefly talking to someone on the phone. When she hung up, the film became static. Newer technology had made it possible to clean up the tape so that a clearer picture of the woman could be seen. The new footage with the audio was shown on national TV.

She was dressed in a red teddy which was sexy but at the same time conservative. It was more alluring than sexy. Many of the others on the other tapes dressed in lingerie which left little or nothing to the imagination. They seemed to be comfortable. It was evident that this woman was very uncomfortable the way she was dressed and really didn't want to be in this situation. Her body language clearly showed this.

Unlike the others, she changed into the teddy in the bathroom and then came out. The others did so in front of the camera and were totally comfortable with it. Instead of lying in the bed, she was sitting on a chair next to the bed, her hand folded. She also seemed extremely nervous.

"Does anyone know who this woman is?" Said Investigator Michael Green who headed the National Task Force. .

The footage was about to be played on all the stations that carried news.

"We would like to find out if this woman is still alive. This woman looks to be young, perhaps between the ages of 18-25 years old and has long dark hair. We don't know if she's of Hispanic origin or ancestry, but mostly likely she is given that all of his victims have been Hispanic. If you recognize this woman or if you are this woman, please contact us. We would like to hear from you."

Investigator Green ran the footage which included better quality picture and the audio.

"Hola. Como Estas?"

There was a smile on the woman's face.

"Estoy en casade Mark Darkling en una fiesta y estoy muy nervioso."

She was silent for a couple of minutes and then said bye and hung up the phone.

The tears came and then the sobbing. She started looking around the room, like she wanted to escape. There was a window in the room and she tried to open it. It wouldn't open. Panic and terror came over the woman. Although no more words were spoken, it was evident that the unidentified female was in fear for her life and was utterly terrified. On the video, someone was pounding on the door. The woman ran into the bathroom and locked the door. Mark Darkling broke down the door to the bedroom and the bathroom door. The woman who is crying and sobbing is seen being dragged out of the bathroom by her hair and then thrown on the bed. She is heard screaming and begging for the man not to harm her. Then the footage went static.

"Please give us any information about this woman. If you are the person she spoke with, we needed to talk to you as well. We are concerned about her well-being and need to know if she's okay."

Jose Rodriguez who was sitting in the Miami Dade County Jail knew who the female was on the tape. He had lied to authorities telling them he didn't know who she was. He hoped for her sake that they didn't find out who she was but knew that they would at some point. It would be quite a shock to investigators if they discovered who she was.

The one thing he knew is that she was very lucky to have come out of the house alive without any physical injuries because she was the sole survivor of a madman who hated women and who brutalized them prior to killing them. .

Father Hector was still trying to make sense of what he'd been told prior to taking Jose to the county jail to turn himself in on an outstanding warrant for violating his Probation. . Some of what he was told was shocking. Mark Darkling wasn't exactly someone he'd pictured Maria dating but Jose had told him that she wasn't really dating him. She'd been invited to a party and was told to bring some sexy lingerie. It was also doubtful that she'd ever told anyone about this.


	2. Chapter 2

In February of 1958, Theresa and Juan Gomez boarded a Pan-Am Flight from Havana, Cuba to Miami, Florida. As Theresa Gomez looked out the window, tears came down her cheeks. It was all she could do not to break down into sobbing. Her husband Juan had a sad look on his face. Both hated to leave Cuba, but they had no choice. They were in danger if they stayed. Several relatives had left months earlier. Although she didn't really look pregnant, Theresa Gomez was about 6 months pregnant.

On May 4, 1958, Theresa Gomez gave birth to a daughter named Maria.

Horatio Caine had met Maria Gomez while doing undercover work. It was discovered that a possible serial killer had been murdering women of Cuban ancestry. The year before (Mid May 1980) Maria had attended the funeral of one of the women murdered. Lourdes Martinez had grown up in Miami Springs and had attended the same schools as Maria.. She was a year younger than Maria and was her best friend. They were roommates for 3 years.

Maria knew her well, and considered her to be a good friend. Unlike the other victims of the serial killer, Lourdes Martinez wasn't a runaway, homeless nor was she someone who worked the streets. She grew up in an upper middle class Cuban family. By all accounts she came from a stable and loving family. She was reported missing right away by her family when she failed to come to church with Maria.

Family and friends passed out flyers in Miami. Posters were put up around the city.

Her body was found two days later dumped in a sugar cane field about an hour outside Miami near the Everglades. In her pocket was a hand written note and some information about the killer. Horatio Caine had been investigating a drug ring which was rumored to be hiding drugs out in the Everglades when he happened to come across the body of Lourdes Martinez. She'd been severely beaten and raped. Several ropes were put around her neck which was so tight that they left impressions on the neck. An investigation showed that the murder had nothing to do with the drug ring.

Horatio Caine had attended the funeral of Lourdes Martinez in the Lady of Hope Catholic Church in Miami Springs. The funeral was well attended with people outside. A large Screen was put up so people could hear the funeral. The funeral procession to the cemetery was 3 miles long.

He sat next to Maria Gomez who had a box of tissues next to her. Sitting next to her was her fiancé Hector Hernandez. There was hardly a dry eye. People sobbing could be heard from time to time. Maria buried her head in Hectors chest and just started sobbing. He put his arm around her to comfort her. Tears came down his cheeks.

At 22 years old, Lourdes Martinez had her whole life ahead of her. She was about ready to graduate from college and had planned on going to law school. It was very sad.

Horatio gave her his business card and asked her to call him if she had any information about Lourdes's murder. He wasn't working on the murder case. He didn't really expect her to call him but was surprised a couple of days later when she did.

A couple of weeks later (June 1980) she joined Horatio for a drink at a bar which was right down the street from where she lived. She said she had some information about Lourdes but for her it was an excuse to see Horatio. She thought about him all the time.

"You have a very nice engagement ring Maria."

"I know. I'm supposed to be married in a couple of months."

"You don't seem very happy about it. I get the impression that you really don't love this man that you're engaged to be married to."

Horatio was very good at reading people. He had to be to survive in the world he was in.

"I don't really love him but I know that he will be a good father and provider. This is the most important thing."

They talked a little bit about Lourdes and then they left.

From time to time she would call him and they would talk, sometimes for hours. .

In August of 1980 Hector broke up with Lourdes, a couple of months before the wedding.. She called Horatio and they went out to have a drink at place which was frequented by law enforcement.

"You don't seem very upset about the breakup. It's almost like you are relieved." Said Horatio sipping his drink.

"Actually I am relieved. I don't think either one of us was attractive to each other physically, as least I never was. When he kissed me, I felt nothing. I don't think he felt anything either. This is about as far as the relationship went. He escaped by going into the priesthood."

Horatio really liked Maria even though at this point he didn't know her very well but he could read people. She was very different from most women he met in his line of work. Many of the women Horatio met in his line of work were tough, rough around the edges. Maria was sweet and kind. Growing up in Miami Springs, Maria had basically been sheltered from the rougher elements in life. She lived a world away from the drugs, violence, prostitution and other unsavory activities which were across the bridge in Miami. She also had been further sheltered by attending schools in Miami Springs and by attending a very strict private Catholic Women's College.

It wasn't until the beginning of 1981 that they started officially dating. May 4th would be her 23rd birthday. They went out to a movie, and then went to Manny's Cuban Restaurant for a late dinner. Then they went back to her apartment which was in Miami.


	3. Chapter 3

Maria had heard all kinds of stories about what the first time was like. Some experiences were good. Others weren't. She was warned that if she had sex before marriage, it would be a painful experience, both physically and mentally. What never made sense to her was that the women who told her this (her mother, her aunt and grandmother) were virgins when they got married. They would have no way of knowing if this was true.

She felt a quick sharp pain for a couple of seconds and that was it. Maria believed that this had a lot to do with the experience of her lover Horatio. He had his first experience at age 18 and had been married briefly in his early 20's for about a year. He'd had several girlfriends since that time.

At age 30, Horatio Caine had a lot of experience with women which at least in part explained why her first time wasn't that bad. Many of her friends had partners who were very impatient with their lack of experience. This explained why the experience was painful. It didn't even bother Horatio that she was inexperienced. He was very careful not to hurt her.

Even though Maria Gomez lived in Miami, she always went to church with her mother on Sundays and had lunch with her and other family members. She looked in the mirror. She looked to see if there would be an afterglow which many of her friends told her would happen after the first time. She had sex with Horatio for a couple of months and still felt this way. She felt wonderful and felt like she was on top of the world. She was deeply in love with Horatio Caine. She wasn't sure if he felt the same way about her.

A couple of hours earlier Horatio had left. Even though she had invited him to go to church with her, he'd passed on it, just as he had every time she asked him. He'd also passed when she invited him to join her and her mother and aunt for lunch. He used his undercover work as an excuse.

When Maria went to church, people commented on how glowing she looked. She was dressed in a white suit which looked very fitting for church. The priest had a sermon about sexual purity and how important it was to be sexually pure before marriage. She'd been sinning for the last four months and enjoyed it for the most part.

Her mother and aunt were old fashioned about these things. The same was true of the parents of her peers. Maria didn't feel bad about herself nor did Horatio leave her after that. These were things she was warned would happen, but they didn't happen to her.

At one time Maria would have lived up to this standard but after she met Horatio Caine, this belief went right out the window. She realized that she never had the physical attraction towards him that she did with Horatio. She liked him as a person but had no if she had married him, they would have had children and a sex life that was take it or leave it. Although he never really said, it was possible that he felt the same way about her. The priesthood was a way out for him.

December 31, 1981

She and Horatio decided to spend New Years Eve at her apartment. During the last couple of months, he'd practically lived there and often spend days at a time living there. This had been going on since early October. He wasn't going out at all and stayed in the apartment most of the time. She knew he was doing undercover work and it was dangerous work. He told her he had to lay low but didn't say why. He told her that she wasn't in any danger, which was a relief to her. She had a spare room which he used. She was amazed at how he could live in a place and make it look like he didn't live there.

Because he was there all the time, they had begun having sex on a fairly regular basis (a couple of times a week as opposed to once a week previously).

On the TV Dick Clark New Years Rocking Evening had just come on and the countdown to 1982 was beginning. They ran in the New Years in each other arms.

February 14, 1982

It had been over a month since Maria had seen Horatio. He told her he was doing undercover work starting January 3rd and would contact her soon. She wondered if something terrible had happened to him. She dialed a phone number he'd given her if she had an emergency. The number was disconnected. She didn't know what to do. She also needed to talk to him about something. Something very urgent but unfortunately, no one did not seem to know where he was nor was anyone talking. The only thing that she knew was he was alive but in hiding which frightened her.

Dr. Marisol Gonzalez was the doctor that most of the women in Miami Springs went to at some point in their lives. Maria had gone to her since she was a teen-ager. She felt comfortable with her for the most part.

The doctor was somewhat surprised when Maria told her that she'd been sexually active. She was very surprised when she did some tests and the pregnancy test was positive.

'Maria, all the tests came back fine but the reason you aren't feeling so great is because you're pregnant. I take it that you weren't using any birth control." Said Dr. Marisol Gonzalez.

A look of shock came over Maria's face. Then a sense of panic came over her.

"I was on the pill for a while and stopped because it made me sick. I went to a doctor in Miami for the pill."

"How long ago did you take the pill and went did you stop' asked Dr. Gonzalez.

"I started taking the pill in April and then stopped around Halloween."

Dr. Gonzalez shook her head. She didn't need to tell Maria what she was thinking.

"I know I should have gone on another form of birth control but I didn't. I felt guilty as it was about being on the pill. I felt like every time I took it, I was sinning against God. "

This was hardly the first time the Doctor had heard this from her patients but usually they were the older ones as opposed to the younger one.

"How long have you been sexual active?"asked Dr. Gonzalez matter of factly.

"I lost my virginity on my 23rd birthday which was May 4th. About eight months.

"How about the man who fathered you're child. Is he going to be supportive of you?"

Maria broke down and cried. Soon she was sobbing.

"He left me."

She look at Maria with concern.

"When he found out you were pregnant."

"No, he doesn't even know I'm pregnant. He left town shortly after New Years and I've haven't seen him or even talked to him. I've tried to contact him but I couldn't. My mother and aunt have never met him. "

After Maria saw the doctor, she went to her car and sobbed. How was she going to face her mother or her aunt? Once it was known that she was pregnant, she'd be the talk of the town. In Miami, no one would really care but Miami Springs was conservative and there were those who were old fashioned about these things.

A couple of months later

The pregnancy was beginning to show and as Maria expected, she was the talk of the town. She was the very last person that anyone would have thought that this would happen to. Her mother and aunt were supportive but not happy when she told them there would be no marriage or husband.

Her mother and aunt said that if her father or grandfather were still alive, this never would have happened. Maria more or less would be pressured to live at home until she got married to Hector. A couple of months after her grandfather had died Hector broke up with her. She sometimes wondered if he had lived, if they would have gotten married.

Juan Gomez had died when Maria was 4 years old in the Bay of Pigs Invasion. After this happened Maria and her mom moved to Miami Springs to live with her maternal grandparents. Her grandfather more or less took over the role of father. He was a kind gentle soul but very strict when it came to boys or dating. She wasn't really allowed to date. She was only able to go out with Hector because they were in a group. Usually either her grandparents or her mother would always be a chaperone on a school or church trip.

The college that she went to was in Miami Springs and was very strict. Someone there more or less kept an eye on her and reported back to her grandfather her activities. For a long time, she had no idea who this was. She finally figured it out on her 21st birthday when she went to a nightclub to celebrate. Around 10:00 p.m., her grandfather showed up. This was embarrassing to her. He basically kept an eye on her the rest of the evening.

She was furious when she found out it was Hector. She also couldn't believe it but then this explained why her grandfather liked Hector and why he allowed him to be her unofficial boyfriend.


	4. Chapter 4

On September 1, 1982 Maria gave birth to a son who she named Juan after her beloved father.

Twenty years later Horatio Caine returned to Miami. He had to leave very quickly because his life was in danger. One investigator who had been investigating the serial killings of the Cuban women was murdered. Another person on the case died under mysterious circumstances. Someone shot out the tires on Horatio's truck and a warning that he was next.

Horatio Caine had a good idea of who was behind the killings but couldn't prove it. He was pressured to not pursue the case. To protect him, he was advised to leave town. He resigned his post at the Miami Police Department and had moved to New Orleans where he had worked for 4 years, then to New York City where he worked for 16 years. The person who was a threat to him was no longer a threat as this person had been locked up in prison for drug charges.

From time to time, he thought about Maria and how she was doing. To protect her, he had never attempted to contact her. Thankfully those trying to get to him had no idea that she'd been his girlfriend.


	5. Chapter 5

Horatio Caine had heard that a woman who been raped by Mark Darkler had come forward. Investigator Thomas Morrison who was supposed to interview the woman died under mysterious circumstances. He'd been reported missing when he didn't come home from work. A massive police search took place in Miami.

A couple of days later he was found dead over 200 miles away in rural OsceolaCounty in a cow pasture. He'd been shot in the head. His car was nowhere to be found. From the investigation it looked like he'd been shot in the cow pasture where he bled to death.

That same day police in Pensacola responded to a car fire. Investigators there determined it was an arson fire and the car was Investigator Morrison's vehicle. The license plate was next to the vehicle untouched. All of the evidence that the investigator had against Mark also went up in smoke.

Investigator Marisol was very concerned when she heard about this. Maria's clothing was burned, along with pictures of her injuries. Because it wasn't Miami Springs's case, the case was turned over to another agency. The only thing that she had was Maria statement of what happened.

The Investigator Marisol was the only one who knew what happened to Maria. She didn't involve her mother or her aunt or any other family member.

Mark had realized after he burned the car that he'd made a mistake in not finding out that the victim was who had come forward. He thought he'd killed her but he had no name, nothing. Whatever information was there was not up in smoke. He couldn't find out from Jose Rodriguez who she was because he was in the hospital in a coma and wasn't expected to survive. He knew that authorities were on to him. He knew his family would protect him like they always had. So he left for California.


End file.
